Rome Odunze's 2025 season didn't go according to plan.
The second-year wide receiver finished the regular season with 44 receptions on 90 targets for 661 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. Through the first four weeks, the 6-foot-3, 214-pound receiver caught five of those touchdowns. In the final eight regular season games that he played, he reached the end zone just one time.
A stress fracture in his foot forced him to miss the final five games of the regular season, but he returned for the two playoff games against the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. Those two games perfectly summarized his season.
Against the Packers, he caught Caleb Williams’ pass on fourth-and-eight, which extended a Bears’ drive that ended with a touchdown while the team was down 27-16. When Williams needed someone to make a season-saving play, Odunze came up clutch.
The following week, Odunze dropped a touchdown on the Bears’ opening possession against the Rams.
The day after the Rams eliminated the Bears in the Divisional round, Oduzne provided an honest assessment of his season.
"I mean, for me personally, it's just obviously individual-wise, you know, wasn't the season I wanted to have,” Odunze said. “And you know, when the season comes to an end, a lot of those emotions kind of come, you know, flushing through, but for me it's just, you know, it really hurts just to not being (slight pause) coming through in some of those moments throughout the whole season. It's not just last night.”
What did Rome Odunze's coach have to say?
Wide receivers coach and assistant head coach Antwaan Randle El joined WGN's Jarrett Payton to discuss Odunze's fluctuating 2025 season.
Randle El emphasized Odunze's work ethic and mentioned that the team had to “keep him from himself” so that the Bears’ wide receiver could rest his foot.
“The criticism that he and how critical he is of himself, man, that is, that is what you want to see and here when those things take place,” Randle El said. “When a guy takes the onus on, like, ‘Yes, I messed up. Now I got to try and find a way to fix it.’ … When you get guys who see the faults so to speak and go work on it, man that's easier for a coach to coach.”
Randle El didn't sound worried about Oduzne's trajectory and said the Bears’ wide receiver will “be much better” next season, but he does have some things that he will work on in the offseason.
There is no reason for Bears fans to panic about Odunze. He understands what he is capable of and knows this past season wasn't good enough by his standards.
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Another season in Johnson's offense and more time with Williams should have Odunze primed for a big jump in Year 3.